Good morning! Here’s a conversation worth some discussion.
There were a bunch of NFL teams last season — the Lions, Jaguars, Jets, Texans and Falcons — that slammed the reset button. A full year later, which is best positioned to elevate? Asking any of these teams to take a Bengals-sized leap is unrealistic, but could one of these teams make that trusty “In The Hunt” graphic in November? December?
Jamaal Williams is doing everything in his power to change the Lions. Here’s ourconversation, icymi. As the running back eloquently stated: “If you ain’t down with this shit, if you ain’t down with what the coaches are talking about, if you ain’t down with what the players who are all in are talking about, if you ain’t down with this team, get the f--k out. Stay in the locker room. Let the real ones go out and let’s go f-----g play ball.”
There’s a lot to like about these Lions. They started in the trenches. This is one of the best offensive lines in the NFL and No. 2 overall pick Aidan Hutchinson could anchor the defensive line for a decade. Their plan is obviously to get around to the quarterback position when the time’s right. Nothing wrong will building from within until you did that guy.
Trevor Lawrence could be primed for a massive leap in Jacksonville. Doug Pederson gets the best out of his quarterbacks.
Atlanta? I’m not sure what the master plan is quite yet.
Also, as a reminder, we’d got a wild Zoom Happy Hour slated for Friday. Hang out with Richie Incognito right here with Go Long.
He sure didn’t disappoint last time. Ask him anything you’d like.
Can’t wait to dive back into our last Discuss topic, too. If you want to share your best football memory, fire away.
I think one thing that differentiates the Lions from the rest of these teams is the presence of an experienced quarterback who towards the end of last season started looking much more comfortable and decisive in the pocket and with his reads and, especially, with stretching the field vertically. Make no mistake about it; Detroit has pieces: A stout and talented offensive line, a rising star at tight end, field-stretching threats in Chark and eventually Jameson, an excellent move-the-chains wideout in St. Brown, and solid if not necessarily flashy running backs. I think that Goff and this offense are going to surprise people this year, perhaps to the tune of a top-ten finish in offensive DVOA. As for the defense, well, to paraphrase a friend of mine, building a team is hard. Aiden Hutchinson and Charles Harris should be a formidable pass-rushing tandem, I expect marked improvement from Jeff Okudah, and Aaron Glenn is a fine DC, but man are they soft up the middle at all three levels. It should be a fun season in Detroit, with raucous crowds (which will be awesome because Detroit really is one of our best sports towns!) and tons of points. I’ll eagerly hammer the over on 6 wins and won’t be the least bit surprised if they contend for a playoff spot and give the Packers, Vikings and Bears fits. I also believe that the Jags are going to be better than people think, and I came across a national writer who pegged them at 10-7, but I think that’s a bit of a stretch.
I think one thing that differentiates the Lions from the rest of these teams is the presence of an experienced quarterback who towards the end of last season started looking much more comfortable and decisive in the pocket and with his reads and, especially, with stretching the field vertically. Make no mistake about it; Detroit has pieces: A stout and talented offensive line, a rising star at tight end, field-stretching threats in Chark and eventually Jameson, an excellent move-the-chains wideout in St. Brown, and solid if not necessarily flashy running backs. I think that Goff and this offense are going to surprise people this year, perhaps to the tune of a top-ten finish in offensive DVOA. As for the defense, well, to paraphrase a friend of mine, building a team is hard. Aiden Hutchinson and Charles Harris should be a formidable pass-rushing tandem, I expect marked improvement from Jeff Okudah, and Aaron Glenn is a fine DC, but man are they soft up the middle at all three levels. It should be a fun season in Detroit, with raucous crowds (which will be awesome because Detroit really is one of our best sports towns!) and tons of points. I’ll eagerly hammer the over on 6 wins and won’t be the least bit surprised if they contend for a playoff spot and give the Packers, Vikings and Bears fits. I also believe that the Jags are going to be better than people think, and I came across a national writer who pegged them at 10-7, but I think that’s a bit of a stretch.